A leading drug policy reform organization is rallying supporters to send a message to President Donald Trump: Don’t merely reschedule marijuana, as his administration is considering, but fully legalize it instead.
As the president mulls a proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) sent out an action alert on August 25 emphasizing that the modest reform would not end marijuana criminalization or repair the harms of prohibition.
The group referenced Trump’s prior comments on how nobody should be incarcerated over low-level marijuana possession, which is “why his administration must remove it from the CSA completely.”
“But if his administration instead moves marijuana to Schedule III, it would still leave it criminalized under federal law—allowing people to continue being arrested and incarcerated for marijuana-related conduct,” DPA’s Cat Packer said. “While Schedule III may ease tax burdens for marijuana businesses, that change alone doesn’t address the bigger issue: Ordinary people will continue to face punishment for marijuana while large corporations profit.”
“Anything less than descheduling falls short because it will continue criminalizing people for marijuana.”
“We know that removing marijuana from the CSA (or descheduling) is the only way to truly end the harms of marijuana prohibition and put people over profits,” the action alert says, linking to a petition people can sign that DPA will deliver to the White House “over the coming weeks.”
In addition to descheduling, DPA said the reform should be coupled with equity-centered policies such as expungements for people with prior cannabis convictions, establishing a regulatory framework for marijuana to promote public health and reinvesting tax revenue from cannabis sales to support communities most impacted by prohibition.
“Anything less than descheduling falls short because it will continue criminalizing people for marijuana,” DPA said. “It will leave everyday Americans at risk of being arrested, incarcerated, and saddled with criminal records that can create lifelong barriers to housing, jobs, and so much more. We can’t let these harms go on!”
A coalition of prohibitionist, law enforcement and religious groups implored Trump to oppose cannabis rescheduling and leave the drug in Schedule I.
The president’s recent remarks announcing that he’d make a decision on rescheduling within weeks have upped the ante among advocates, stakeholders and anti-drug groups.
In contrast with DPA, a coalition of prohibitionist, law enforcement and religious groups—led by Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)—sent a letter to Trump on August 25 that implored him to oppose the cannabis rescheduling proposal and leave the drug in Schedule I.
Trump endorsed rescheduling on the campaign trail ahead of his second term—as well as industry banking access and a Florida adult-use legalization ballot initiative.
But when he announced an imminent decision on moving marijuana to Schedule III, he said we’re “only looking at that” and it’s too “early” to say how the issue will be decided, adding that “it’s a very complicated subject.”
“Some people like it. Some people hate it—people hate the whole concept of marijuana, because it does bad for the children [and] it does bad for people that are older than children,” the president said. “But we’re looking at reclassification, and we’ll make a determination over the next few weeks—and that determination, hopefully, will be the right one.”
Photograph via PublicDomainPictures.net
This story was originally published by Marijuana Moment, which tracks the politics and policy of cannabis and drugs. Follow Marijuana Moment on X and Facebook, and sign up for its newsletter.
The Influence Foundation, which operates Filter, formerly received a restricted grant from DPA. Filter’s Editorial Independence Policy applies.